Chris Ellenburg was fishing in Lake Belton in Texas when the most peculiar thing happened to him: he caught a fish that didn’t want to be released. In this strange video Ellenburg tells GrindTV.com that he attempted to release a white bass that he had caught when the fish decided it liked the angler’s hand better.

“He swam around me for a minute then between my feet. I reached down and he came up to my hand,” Ellenburg told GrindTV. “Then he swam off about 10 feet then swam back. After he had done it three times, I said to myself ‘nobody will ever believe this.’”

Some have commented that the fish’s weird behavior was likely due to sickness or disorientation. In either case, anglers should take care not to handle fish they intend to release to much. Touching a fish too much in some cases will remove the critter’s protective slime coat.

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